Touch fasteners are particularly desirable as fastening systems for lightweight, disposable garments, such as diapers. In an effort to provide a cost-effective loop material, some have recommended various alternatives to weaving, such as by needling a lightweight, non-woven batt of fibers. Some such needled batts are then stretched to achieve even lighter basis weight and cost efficiency, with the loop structures anchored by various binding methods. U.S. Pat. No. 6,329,016 teaches one such method, for example.
Reducing fiber content can lower cost, but can also affect overall performance or load-carrying capacity of the loop material, and the dimensional stability and handling efficiency of the loop product. Also, choice of fiber material is often compromised by a need for the loop material to be weld-compatible with a substrate (e.g., an outer layer of a diaper) to which the loop material is to be permanently bonded.